Book Review: Verity

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer who doesn’t believe in her own work, until Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, convinces her that she has what it takes to be a co-writer for his wife. Lowen accepts the offer to finish the remaining books in Verity’s successful series since she wouldn’t be able to continue writing due to her health and mental condition. In line with the preparation, she stays at the couple’s residence to go through Verity’s files in her office. To her surprise, she finds an autobiography that was not meant for anyone to be read, revealing very disturbing contents that would shatter her husband if he knew. Will Lowen hand over the shocking manuscript to Jeremy, or will she keep Verity’s secrets to herself?

Verity is a psychological thriller by Colleen Hoover. This is the first book I have read in 2020 that was very hard to put down. And it is the first book this year that truly amazed me, despite its twisted content. Every time I was about to read the next chapter, I found myself preparing mentally, at what I was about to find out because this book scared the heck out of me. And yet, I just kept on reading.

It has well-developed characters, good and realistic lines, and amazing narrative. The author wrote it so well that it was very easy to read, but at the same time, a bit stressful because of its psychological impact, which just proved how effective Colleen’s writing style is.

Now, I love this book. I really do but let me pour out this annoying feeling I have about Verity Crawford. I understand that she’s a bestselling author, so that must obviously mean she’s adept in writing, but may I just say how stupid her character was? She is the most stupid character I have ever come across with in the history of literature. To write an autobiography like that, regardless of what she wrote and why she wrote it, was the most pathetic thing an author could’ve done. I read some reviews about this book and saw that most readers found her despicable and a lot hated the ending. Well, I would say that the only thing I felt about Verity, regardless of which damn side of her was true, was that she was neither the antagonist nor the victim in the story; she was just one sick son of a whatever, who was stupid enough to write that manuscript. Nevertheless, I was impressed by Colleen Hoover for writing such an incredible storyline.

That being said, I recommend this book to all mature readers with a warning that it has very sinister contents. If you’re one with a faint heart who loves fairy tales and happy endings, this book isn’t for you; there are no rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies in this story.

Overall, I am rating this 5 out of 5 stars. It is original and psychologically disturbing, but very hard to put down. There is no other book like this one and so far, this is the best that I’ve read this year.